May’s letter ‘will reignite cannabis debate’

A PEER who is campaigning to legalise low-potency cannabis says the debate has been reignited after Theresa May told him in a letter that she shared his “concerns over the use of skunk”.

Lord Monson, of Burton in Lincs, lost his youngest son, Rupert Green, 21, to the drug on January 23 this year. Mr Green died in hospital having tried to kill himself and after prolonged periods of psychosis and aggressive behaviour. Lord Monson attributes his death to skunk – a particularly toxic form of cannabis. “I didn’t know what the dif- ference between skunk and cannabis was,” he said. “I thought skunk was just a generic word the young use for cannabis. I assumed it was just a rite of passage. It was only when he became mentally troubled and said he was going to commit suicide that we realised how serious it is.”

High potency cannabis (above 15 per cent THC, the main psychoactive ingredient) has been linked to one in four cases of new-onset psychosis. It works more rapidly than cannabis, causing hallucinations, anxiety and vomiting.

Lord Monson, whose eldest son, Alexander, died in police custody in Kenya, now campaigns to legalise low potency forms of cannabis for those over 25 “so it becomes like a beer and is taxed according to strength” and eradicates the black market in skunk.

The Prime Minister’s letter said the government was developing a new strategy. She wrote: “We will continue to keep the UK’s drug laws under review and look at new ways to reduce the demand for drugs, restrict supply, and support individuals to recover from dependence.” Lord Monson hopes this will lead to the blanket ban on cannabis being lifted, although there is currently little sign this will happen.